Prior art methods of making silicon micromachines involve a step of anodic bonding of micromachined silicon to a glass or pyrex substrate that contains metalization. Anodic bonding requires applying a high voltage to the glass, which can result in dielectric breakdown of the gas between the silicon and metal (arcing), and damage to both the silicon and the metal. Such prior art methods also use a wet chemical silicon release etch (e.g., mixtures of acetic, nitric and hydrofluoric acid). This type of silicon etch is known to etch metal contaminated silicon or damaged silicon (e.g., by anodic bonding), at a different etch rate than silicon that is not damaged nor contaminated. This results in pits or holes being etched in the micromachine that can result in failure of the micromachine by fracturing.